The Liberator begins
Choose a PDF, read on screen, and try the word game.
Choose your PDF reading
All four include an image, vocabulary, comprehension questions, a follow-up reading, and teacher guidance. These English PDFs have selectable text; use the reading below for adjustable text and listening tools.
Read on this page

Words to know
- abolition
- ending slavery
- publish
- make words or pictures available to readers
- freedom
- the ability to live and act without unjust control
William Lloyd Garrison began publishing The Liberator in Boston. The newspaper called for ending slavery. Black and white abolitionists worked in many ways for freedom. Publishing helped spread arguments and news.
Talk about the reading
What happened? Point to a detail that supports your answer. What does the picture help you understand? What would you like to investigate next?
Follow-up: Horace Mann and public schools
Horace Mann became secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. He worked to improve public schools and teacher preparation. He argued that education mattered for the community. Access still differed among children.
How are the two events connected or different? Their order does not prove that one caused the other.
Read the follow-up event →Word match: use the reading
Select a word, then select its meaning. You can use a keyboard or tap. Read the word bank if you need a clue.
Choose a word to begin.
Check the evidence
Research source for this event ↗
Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain Image source and rights ↗
Historical images, later portraits, reconstructions, and modern topic illustrations are identified in their captions. They are different kinds of evidence.
Try a source investigationVisit a Massachusetts place
Try a source investigation